African & Chinese Executives Study Together in Lagos

April 23, 2016. Lagos, Nigeria – The opportunity to study the language of economics brought together 50 business executives and political leaders from Nigeria and 10 Africa-based Chinese managers from the state owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) for a four-day Executive Education Programme titled “Economic Environment”. Taught by CEIBS Professor of Economics Bala Ramasamy, this is the first of four fully-funded Executive Education Open Programmes that CEIBS will offer this year as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives in Africa.

AVIC International’s Nigeria Representative Mr. Gan Lijun praised Prof. Ramasamy for the way in which he shared his rich knowledge of Chinese and other Asian economies. He also praised CEIBS for providing an international learning environment. “Another benefit of the programme is that our Chinese team studied together with the local team,” said Mr. Gan. “The diversity of the backgrounds, cultures and views of the participants helped a lot. We were able to get to know each other, and the network we built with the African participants will be beneficial for our business in Africa.”

His comments were echoed by Mr. Su Tiansu, AVIC International’s Kenya Representative. “This was my second time attending a course taught by Professor Ramasamy. Each time I acquire new knowledge,” he said. “I would like to thank CEIBS for organizing this programme, which I believe was beneficial to all the participants. Professor Ramasamy knows how to guide us to think, to ask questions and to find answers ourselves.”

Nigerian participants were equally enthusiastic. "I have attended quite a number of executive seminars at top-rated business schools around the world but none was as impactful, engaging, educational and contemporary as the CEIBS seminar taught by Professor Bala Ramasamy," said Mr. George Zangir, President of the Nigerian-based company Value Seeds Limited.

The four-day course began on April 20. It familiarised participants with the basics of economics such as opportunity costs, marginalism and markets. Participants also got an overview of the fundamental concepts of macroeconomics and the main variables and indicators of the economy including GDP, inflation rates and unemployment rates. Short and long-term drivers of economic growth and development were also explained, to help participants better understand the effects of government policies. Professor Ramasamy also shared examples from China and other East Asian economies such as Singapore and Malaysia and drew comparisons with Sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana.

“They say seeing the big picture makes all the difference, but it is the little things that make up the big picture. Professor Ramasamy was able to build the big picture from small everyday issues in such a unique way; it took the whole class on an exciting discovery of the world of economics,“ said Mike Ogbalu III, Divisional CEO for Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services. “He also opened up Asia and the world at large in a way that provoked a new way of thinking.”